


Careful Cooking

by megabeccaw



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Candlenights, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megabeccaw/pseuds/megabeccaw
Summary: A series of (connected) chapters based on December writing prompts, beginning at the moment directly after Taako throws a macaron at Angus’ head at the Candlenights party





	1. Gift Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> full disclosure: i have no clue where this story is going but it will definitely go somewhere
> 
> i’m doing a daily December writing prompt challenge, and the prompt will be the chapter title. i might not do every prompt for this story because chances are they won’t all fit properly once i choose a direction to take this
> 
> that said, i’m gonna try to follow the schedule and if the story’s not done by the new year i’ll continue it next month too!

Taako felt... bad.

There was no way to put it that was more intellectual or proper or anything like that - not that Taako ever let traits like those really dictate how he behaved. He just felt _bad_. The kid was so happy just to get a probably-shitty cookie thrown at his head from across the room. Why would anyone be happy about that?

The worst part was Taako could always tell when Angus was pretending to be happy or excited, and this clearly wasn’t just a polite “Thank you, sir!” called across the room. No, Angus was genuinely _thrilled_ about this simple little macaron.

He didn’t even know if they were safe. He didn’t even test them, and oh fuck, what if he just chucked a delicious little piece of the kid’s own demise at his head? And Angus was absolutely over the moon about it.

Why did Angus even trust him? He’d literally thrown the boy off of a moving train. Taako had no idea how he’d earned a single brownie point when it came to Angus, and yet he had enough faith in Taako to _eat his food_.

So yes, Taako felt like the worst elf in existence when Angus beamed at him and took a bite out of the cookie. But at the same time, he felt oddly warm inside, and had to turn away to snark a little extra at the Director to stop himself from smiling back.


	2. Snowflakes

They were already halfway through the cannon trip by the time Angus realized he had forgotten his hat. Taako had been wondering when it would occur to him, he swore he’d never seen the kid without it before. And yet there he’d been, rushing toward Taako and the cannon, already prattling on about how he’d overslept and, _“Thank you for waiting sir, I thought you’d leave without me!”_ It was, of course, ridiculous. Why would Taako leave without Angus?

And obviously by that he meant he was only headed planetside today because of Angus, so if he didn’t show there was no point in going. Clearly Taako didn’t mean that the thought of not taking Angus along never occurred to him.

Regardless, Angus was without his hat. When he reached to adjust his hat out of habit, as he often did when explaining to Taako something he thought was quite obvious, he stopped mid-sentence, eyebrows furrowing just a little, and let out a quiet “oh” before diving right back into whatever it was he’d been talking about before.

For someone so observant, he could be really oblivious sometimes.

\--

It was snowing when they landed. A thin layer of powder was already on the ground, but the snowstorm had picked up noticeably by the time they’d finished shopping for spell components.

“Sir? Couldn’t you have bought all of this at the Fantasy Costco?”

Ah, there was the boy detective Taako knew was in there somewhere.

“Well yeah, but c’mon my guy, Taako’s only down for Garfield deals so often,” Taako replied, picking a random direction further into town. After all, they were already in Neverwinter, and Taako would never pass on a little extra time off the moon base. Plus, he kind of liked the snow. It made the street seem much more quaint and cozy than on a busy summer’s day, and while it wasn’t really his thing, he could appreciate the aesthetic as much as anybody.

There was a good amount of snow on the rooftops, while what was on the streets themselves had been quickly trampled down by shoppers in a rush to get to their next destination and out of the weather. Snow was still falling steadily, getting in Taako’s hair, but he didn’t mind much.

A quiet sneeze broke him out of his distraction, and when he turned to Angus, he saw the kid’s nose had gone totally red, and there were snowflakes in his hair. On a whim, he turned into a little cafe, knowing Angus would be right behind. Ordering two hot cocoas, he ignored the way Angus was practically oozing confusion, interrupted only by his occasional sniffles.

Once the barista handed him the drinks, he led them over to sit at table by the front window. He pushed a mug toward Angus, and noted that he still had snowflakes in his hair. And when Angus smiled widely and thanked him for the drink, Taako didn’t even think about it as he reached out and ruffled Angus’ hair.

Because obviously it was just to shake the snowflakes out. He couldn’t have the kid getting sick on his watch of course, the others would hold it over him forever.


	3. Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one actually turned out nothing like I expected when I saw the prompt and picked the setting, but it still mostly fits, and I think it works a bit better with canon and where this fic is probably going, so it's all good. Plus I mean idk how to really write angst so the end of this one is probably as close as we'll get here.

The first thing Taako heard when he got out of the cannonball was frantic worrying from none other than Angus McDonald, who apparently hadn’t even gotten around to leaving the cannon room since he sent them off to Refuge.

“Sirs! What happened, did something go wrong? Are you hurt? Oh gosh, are you okay?”

Magnus interrupted the poor kid’s attempts to worry himself to death, patting him on the back just a little too rough while he said, “We got the relic, Ango!” Adjusting his glasses after they nearly fell from the force of Magnus’ pat, Angus looked a bit stunned.

“Hey, don’t look too surprised, kid. We _do_ actually know how to do our jobs. Sometimes!” Merle cackled as he, Magnus, and Avi all started off toward the Director’s office.

Taako must have hesitated to follow them a little too long, because he suddenly found a certain boy detective directly in front of him, eyes still betraying lingering concern because Angus knows these missions never go off without a hitch. For them to be back so soon, it was too convenient. Angus was too good of a detective to immediately accept that it really went so smoothly.

“Sir? What happened? No one really told me anything about the relic before you left, just where to send you. Was it really that easy, even when all of your other missions have been so complicated?”

Taako sighed. “Okay, listen. Taako’s not gonna say all of this twice, you know? So, the magic cup we got down there has some like, time powers or some shit. We were stuck in a loop and we were the only ones who could remember all the different cycles.”

And Taako wasn’t sure why, but he answered the questions, and he answered them honestly. He spent what felt like hours telling Angus all about the little town of Refuge, the purple worm, all of the people they met, the prophecies from Paloma, and even meeting Istus. Angus listened intently as Taako recounted almost every detail from their numerous cycles there, frowning at Taako tricking those poor people in the bar into paying for a class he’d never teach, and looking oddly proud at the three boys solving all of the puzzles in the mines.

He didn’t mention the red robe, or the countless painful deaths that ended each cycle.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! you can find me on [tumblr](http://crispybaguette.tumblr.com)


End file.
